Convertible shoes



May s, 1962 3,032,896

K. P. WEAVER CONVERTIBLE SHOES Filed Jan. 23, 1961 CONVERTIBLE SHOES Kathleen P Weaver, 1001 N, Mairi, Las Vegas, Nev'. Filed Jan. 23, 1961, Ser. No. 84,016 4 Claims. (Cl. Sti-2.5)

This invention relates to' a Convertible shoe', and it particularly relates to a shoe having a replaceable vamp cover portion. l

It is common knowledge that Women generally de; sire different colors and shades of shoes to match the rest of their costume such as to match a hat, blouse, belt, dress or handbag. This means that in order to be fashionably groomed, a woman must have a large number of shoes. This is obviously an expense which relatively few can adequately bear'.

It is one object of the present invention to overcome the above difficulty by providing a type of shoe which can be easily and simply changed in color or shade as desired. l Y

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe of the aforesaid type which is simple in construetio'n and easy to use. p

Other objects of the present invention are to provide improved shoes, of the character described, that are easily and economically produced, which are sturdy in construction, and which are highly efficient in use.

With the above and related objects in View, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a shoe embodying the present invention, the vamp being shown partly detached.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, greatly enlarged relative to FIG. l, of the vamp assembly shown in FiG. l.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on line 3 3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the oppositely disposed facings utilized with the vamp of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5 5 of FIG. 4.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a shoe, generally designated it), comprising a sole 12 integral with a shank portion 1d and a heel Y portion 16. Depending from the heel portion 16 is a high heel 18.

The upper surface of the sole 12, between the tip of the sole 12 and the shank portion 14, isprovided with a vamp 20 permanently attached to the shoe. This vamp 20 is provided on each side with three spaced female snap fastener elements 22. These elements 22 are adapted to be releasably engageable by complementary male snap fastener elements 24 on the underside of a vamp cover 25. This cover 25 may be of any desired material, color or shade and as many different covers 25 may be provided as desired for interchangeability.

The vamp cover assembly 25 itself consists of a strip 26, made of leather, canvas, plastic, fabric or any other desired material. The strip 26 has a relatively shallow, arcuately recessed edge 28 and an oppositely-disposed, relatively deep arcuately recessed edge 30 (as best seen in FIG. 2). Both the edges 28 and 30 are concave.

The opposite ends 32 and 34 of strip 26 are arcuately convex and the snap fastener elements 24 are situated adjacent thereto.

The snap fastener elements 24 are connected to corre- 3,032,896 Patented May 8, 1962 I'ice 2 'spending arcuate facings, respectively designated 36 and 38, by means of a pair of washer portions 40 and 42 (see FIGS. 3 and 5).

The facings 36 and 38 are attached to the strip 26 in any manner desired but preferably by sewing or stitching. In the stitching operation, the edges of the strip 26 are bent around to form hems, respectively designated 44, 46, 48 and 501 (see FIG. 2). The facings 36 and 38 are similarly provided with hems, as at S2, 54 and 56 for facing 36 and at 58, titi' and 62 for' facing 3S. The respective her'ns of the strip 26 and facings 36+ and 38 are then coincided and the stitching is applied there'- through as indicated at 64 (see FIG. 3). The individual hems of the facings 36 and 38 are themselves held together by individual stitching, such as illustrated at 66 in FIG. 5, prior to the main stitching d4 being applied thereover. v

After the vamp cover assembly 25 is applied to the vamp 20 of the shoe 10 (as in FIG. l), if a Avamp cover of a different color, shade or material is desired, it is merely necessary to unfasten the vamp cover assembly 2S shown and substitute another of the desired type.

The number of fastener elements 22-24 has been illustrated as being three on each side. The number used, however, is optional.

In the use of this invention, women would still buy the usual number of shoes, but they would have extra vamp covers 25 to be utilized for variations in costume. The convertible feature of these shoes makes them very convenient for taking on trips since a woman can obtain a maximum change of shoes with a minimum amount of packing space. Dress manufacturers could also clip an extra piece of material to dresses so that the buyer could have removable vamp covers made to match. This would be especially handy for entertainers and the like who need a large variety of change of costume.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is clairned is:

1. A convertible shoe comprising a sole, a heel connected to said sole, a vamp fixed to said sole, and a vamp cover releasably positioned over said vamp, said vamp cover comprising a strip having arcuate edges and ends, individual facings overlying and secured to said ends, and fastening means on said facings, said vamp having fastening means to be releasably engaged by the fastening means on said facings.

2. The shoe of claim 1, said fastening means being snap fastener elements.

3. The shoe of claim l, said fastening means on said facings completely underlying the strip.

4. The shoe of claim 3, said vamp cover fastening means being secured solely to and through said facings, thereby leaving said vamp cover strip free of any visible fastening means when in position on said vamp.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,801,379 Turner Apr. 21, 1931 2,068,946 Ferguson Jan. 26, 1937 2,887,792 Staff May 26, 1959 2,887,795 Taicher May 26, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,211,816 France Oct. 12, 1959 

